Cardinal Wuerl: Pope sees 'journeying together' as essential to life of church

Mark Zimmerman|
Catholic News Service

9/15/17

WASHINGTON — The process of "journeying together"
during the Catholic Church's synods of bishops examining contemporary
challenges on marriage and family life offers a map for the church's outreach,
Washington Cardinal Donald W. Wuerl said Sept. 12.

This process reflects not only the pontiff's pastoral approach,
but also offers a template for how priests and laypeople can accompany others
to help them understand and live the faith, he said.

Cardinal Wuerl made the remarks at Georgetown University in an
address on "Pope Francis: Fresh Perspectives on Synodality" as part
of the university's Dahlgren Chapel Sacred Lecture series.

He explained that "synodality" refers to coming
together or journeying together, which he said is how those gatherings of the
world's bishops tackled issues facing married couples and families.

The cardinal noted that Pope Francis emphasized the importance of
dialogue as those discussions unfolded. "We can recall his advices to the
bishops ... to speak with openness and clarity, to listen with humility and be
open to the Holy Spirit."

Cardinal Wuerl said that the pope's understanding of synodality,
that journeying together, involved not only dialogue with bishops who teach and
transmit the faith, but also drew upon insights from married couples and families
in dioceses around the world.

"We have to listen to people living the faith," the
cardinal said, who added that journeying together toward the love and truth of
Christ then involves all members of the Catholic Church — clergy, religious and
laity. The two synods on marriage and family, the cardinal added, were preceded
by consultations of local churches throughout the world on the lived situation
of families, their challenges and experiences.

That approach, he said, resulted in "Amoris Laetitia"
being a "consensus exhortation," with its elements drawn from the
bishops' discussion and the worldwide consultation of Catholics receiving approval
from a significant majority of the participating bishops.

"I have been present in some capacity for 11 synods and as a
bishop member for seven. The last two, the 2014 and 2015 gatherings, were, in
my opinion, the most open, engaging and reflective of episcopal collaboration
and consultation," Cardinal Wuerl said.

That same approach, he said, has marked the preparation for the
upcoming 2018 Synod on Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment.

In the Archdiocese of Washington, a "Share With Francis"
initiative preparing for that synod involved gathering feedback from 661
participants in listening sessions at parishes, in young adult groups and on
college campuses, and nearly 1,000 online responses from young people.

"Pope Francis understands the process of listening to the
faithful and to his brother bishops to be a key part of his own teaching and
pastoral ministry," the cardinal said. "It is a part of the
'synodality' or 'journeying together,' which he sees as essential to the very
life of the church."

He also noted that Pope Francis demonstrates that witnessing to
the faith involves not just words, but actions.

Cardinal Wuerl said "Amoris Laetitia" reaffirmed
Catholic doctrine on marriage and family life and highlighted the teaching of
recent popes on those subjects. The document also underscored the importance of
discernment and helping people form consciences guided by church teaching, he
said.

The journey of faith, he said, also requires support and
accompaniment from pastors and other members of the church, so those having
difficulty understanding or following that teaching can be helped to accept and
live the faith.

That effort to go out, encounter and accompany others is at the
heart of Pope Francis' call for today's Catholics to be evangelizing disciples,
journeying with others to draw closer to Christ on the path to heaven, Cardinal
Wuerl said.

"Just as Jesus said to his disciples as he prepared to
return to his Father in glory, 'You will be my witnesses,' so Pope Francis is
calling the whole body of disciples together in a process of discerning the
richness of the proclamation of the faith, accompanying one another as we try
to embrace and appropriate the faith, and to announce it to the world today as
much by our actions as by our words," the cardinal said at the conclusion
of his talk.

"What Pope Francis is doing is helping us all understand
that to be true witnesses to Jesus we have to walk together in witnessing (to)
and supporting one another," he said.

Before the cardinal's talk, John DeGioia, Georgetown University's
president, said the concept of a sacred lecture reflects a tradition begun by
the early Jesuits to help inform and inspire those seeking to grow in their
faith.

Other speakers in the series have included writer Alice McDermott,
a Catholic who won a National Book Award for her 1998 novel, "Charming
Billy." Last year at Georgetown, she spoke on the topic, "Where There
is Sorrow, There is Holy Ground."

In a question-and-answer session after his talk, Cardinal Wuerl
was asked how the concept of journeying together is shaping preparation for the
2018 synod, and he said the church wants to bring Jesus' Gospel to today's
world, and needs to hear from young people about "how we do that
today?"

The pope, he said, is asking church leaders to engage young
people in that process, to find out what their aspirations are, and what issues
are important to them.

Afterward, Sinmi Tinubu, a senior studying business at Georgetown
who is a member of St. Joseph Parish in Beltsville, Maryland, described her
hopes for the upcoming synod.

"I hope the church can figure out a way to connect with
people of my age and revive that faithfulness," she told the Catholic
Standard, Washington's archdiocesan newspaper. "The church I know is open
and welcoming of all people. The church needs to communicate that."

Zimmermann is editor of the Catholic Standard,
newspaper of the Archdiocese of Washington.